Page 83 of Aria's Ascension

“Always,aessa.You, as well.” He slid his fingers over the bridge of her nose before raising his gaze to look at Tirox behind her. “Try to ensure she does not besot another, hmm?”

“I havebeentrying!” Tirox grumbled while Aria sputtered.

“I haven’tbesotanyone!”

All three men turned to give her incredulous looks.

Rolling her eyes, she left, pulling a chuckling Tirox along with her.

Chapter 45

Back in the cargo bay, Aria scanned the hold while quietly directing Tirox, “We need to do another walk through. Those with injuries take precedence. I don’t know if they have translators, but try to reassure them as you go. Tell them we’re not slavers and they’re safe, but question them, if possible. We need to figure out if they’re dangerous.”

He nodded and started to leave just as she peered up and spotted a small, square hole in the top of the closest cage. A quick glance told her they all had them.

“Red, wait.”

Turning to him, she walked around and dug in the duffel bag strapped to his back. She pulled out two fistfuls of rings, handing one to him and keeping the other for herself.

“We can toss these in through those holes up there.”

“Wise and beautiful,” he purred, bending to give her hair a quick nuzzle before heading down the row next to hers. Just before he disappeared, he called back, “No teeth flashing!”

Aria snorted and headed toward the nearest enclosure. Inside were two quadruped… things. They were definitely alien and animals, if she wasn’t mistaken. They were fluffy as hell and colored a beautiful teal, with big, black eyes that watched her warily. She couldn’t tell if they were injured under all that fluff, but they didn’t appear too distressed, so she left them and crossed the isle to the next box.

A couple rows and at least fifty cages later, she hadn’t found a single being who understood her, and half the inhabitants were definitely animals. For those with visible wounds, she’d done what she could to calm them down, speaking in a soft voice, then demonstrating how to use the healing ring before throwing it in.

It was when she started down her third row that something made her heart skip a beat.

“Help! Please help us!”

Oh, no. That’s a human.

Aria sprinted for the voice then skidded to a stop about halfway down the aisle and turned in a slow circle, lips parted in horror.

Humans—human women, to be more precise—filled the cages around her. Some were confined three or four to a cell, some were locked in with aliens. All were freaking out.

Raising her hands, she yelled out, “Everybody, calm down!”

“Get us out of here!” a brunette woman in a sparkly, black dress screamed, pounding her fists on the walls of her cell.

“I’m working on that. But, right now, I need to know who’s injured.”

A dozen yells ofme,him, andherimmediately rang out.

“Alright, pay attention!” She set her remaining handful of rings on the floor, keeping one with which to demonstrate. “Expand it like this, set it on the ground, then step inside. It’s safe and will heal you. If you’re severely injured, let it do a couple passes before handing it off to the next person. If you’re with someone who’s injured and cannot heal themselves, pass it over their bodies as best as you can. Everyone understand?”

Calmer murmurers answered her, and she nodded. People had a hard time freaking out if they were forced to stop and pay attention.

After throwing them in, she made sure they were using them properly, then braced herself for the screams to come.

“I need to check on the other people down here.” She raised a hand to the outraged expressions more than a few women gave her and made eye contact with the three who were enclosed with alien men. “Does everyone feel safe with their cellmates? I can climb up there and stun them, if needed.”

A woman who didn’t look to be more than twenty-five, and was even smaller than Aria, flicked a guarded look at the women around her but smiled shakily. “They’re nice. They wouldn’t hurt me.”

A snort from a neighboring cell preceded a mutter, “No, but they might hump you.”

A bright blush colored the young woman’s face and her gaze fell to the ground. Seeing her distress, the massive males in her cell growled threateningly.

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